Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File W. 24,231, Jonathan Farnam, Continental Mass.

SERVICE
NUMBER
Continental Mass.
or 2 Jarnam Jonathan 2 Jarnham. Dorcas
W. 24,231
CONTENTS

John Farnam Private Col. Bailey's Regt Mass t Line 1775 to 1783
dec. 9 th May 1818
war
Admitted.

State of Massachusetts.
I Jonathan Farnham a Citizen of the United States, now resident at Waltham in the County of Middlesex in the State aforesaid, do on oath testify and declare, that in the War of the Revolution, on or about the last part of December A. D. 1775
I entered and was engaged in the land service of the United States on the con- tinental establishment, and served accordingly from that time to the 1 st day of June A. D. 1783 being seven years & five months — mostly
as a private soldier — against the common enemy, without any interruption or absence: that I belonged to Capt. Samuel Prentiss Company Col. John Bailey's Regiment for one year, for the remaining part of said time I belonged to Capt. Judah Alden's Com- pany same Regiment, being with the Massachusetts line
and that I left the service on the 1 st day of June A. D. 1783 at New- Point and received an honorable discharge badge of merit both of which I have lost — and that by reason of my reduced circumstances in life and poverty,
I stand in need of assistance from my country for support, being now of the age of sixty four years — during said time I was at the taking of Burgoyne & at the battle of Monmouth — part of said time I acted as a Sergeant of said Capt. Alden's Company, & part of said time as Sergeant Major of said Regiment Col. Sprout's Regi- ment where I was the latter part of said time —
And I hereby relinquish all claims to every pension heretofore allowed me by the laws of the United States, if any may be or hath been so allowed. and I have now no other evi- dence now in my power of said services — Jonathan Farnham.
Nicholas P. Commonwealth of Massachusetts
BE IT REMEMBERED, That on this ninth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighteen Pursuant to a law of the United States, entitled, "An Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war," made and passed on the 18th of March, A. D. 1818, personally appeareth before me Jeremiah Bailey Judge of the Court of Probate within & for the County of Middlesex in the Commonwealth aforesaid, the same being a Court of record,
the abovenamed Jonathan Farnham and after due examination and caution to testify and declare the whole truth, he maketh oath to the declaration aforesaid, and subscribes the same in my presence; and, on examination duly made by me the said Judge, it appeareth to my satisfaction that the said declaration is true.
Jere Bailey
I John H. Sheppard Register of the Court of Probate for the County of Middlesex, hereby certify that the aforesaid Jeremiah Bailey is Judge of said Court of Probate above named & that his signature to this declaration is genuine & that the seal aforesaid is the seal of said Court John H. Sheppard

8120
Maine
Jonathan Garnham of Boothbay Dist. Maine who was a Private in the regiment commanded by Colonel Bailey of the Massachusetts line, for the term of the war.
Inscribed on the Roll of the Dist. of Maine at the rate of Eight Dollars per month, to commence on the 9 th of May 1818.
Certificate of Pension issued the 25 th of March 1819 and sent to Genl. Bailey, Esq. Winthrop, Maine.
  Arrears to 4th of March 1819  9 27 / 31  70. 96    Semi-ann. all'ce ending 4 Sept. 1819   40. 00     $126.96  
{ Revolutionary claim, } { Act 18th March, 1818. }
Coastline Lincoln County.

Notification sent the 1 st July 1820, to Thomas McCrate Esq.
Winchester - Maine -

Sona. Farnham 3
(0120)
Sept 1879
W. Grah

STATE OF MAINE.
LINCOLN, ss....At a Circuit Court of Common Pleas for the second Eastern Circuit, begun and holden at Wiscasset, within and for the County of Lincoln, on the third Tuesday, being the twentieth day of June, and by adjournment  from day to day, on the  day of in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty, before the Honorable JOSIAH STEBBINS & EBENEZER THATCHER, Judges of said Court.
ON this twentieth day of June in the year 1820, personally appeared in open court
the same proceeding according to the course of the common law, having jurisdiction unlimited in amount, keeping a record of their proceedings, and having "the power of fine and imprisonment," and being a Court of Record for said Circuit, Jonathan Tarnham aged sixty seven years, resident in Boothbay in said Circuit, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath declare that he served in the Revolutionary War as follows, viz. as a Sergeant in the company commanded by Capt. Judah Alden in the Regiment commanded by Colonel John Bailey in the line of the State of Massachusetts on the Continental Establishment, as is more particularly mentioned and described in his original declaration, made on the ninth day of May A. D. 1818, and on which said declaration his Certificate of Pension, numbered 8120 was granted. And I do solemnly swear that I was a resident citizen of the United States on the 18th day of March 1818; and that I have not since that time by gift, sale, or in any manner disposed of my property, or any part thereof, with intent thereby so to diminish it as to bring myself within the provisions of an Act of Congress, entitled "An Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States, in the Revolutionary War," passed on the 18th day of March, 1818: and that I have not, nor has any person in trust for me, any property or securities, contracts, or debts due to me; nor have I any income other than what is contained in the schedule hereto annexed, and by me subscribed; that my occupation and ability to pursue the same, together with the number and other particulars of my family, are in fact and in truth as is particularly described on the back hereof, also subscribed by me.
Jonathan Tarnham
Sworn to and declared, on the 20th day of June A. D. 1820. }
BEFORE
Ebenezer Thatcher { One of the Judges of the said Court.

SCHEDULE of the real and personal estate, (necessary clothing and bedding excepted) belonging to me the subscriber, viz :
Real estate, none.
Personal property, six old chairs, a pine table, pot and kettles
Jonathan Farnam
SCHEDULE of the family residing with me Jonathan Farnam who, by occupation am a cabinet maker which I am unable to pursue by reason of ill health
   NAMES. AGES. Capacity of each to contribute to their support.     Darcus Farnham 64 Totally unable to labor   Hannah Farnham 27 Who stays with her parents as a nurse and from parental feelings towards us    Jonathan Farnam Attest Nat. Coffin Clerk
STATE OF MAINE.
LINCOLN, ss.
I, NATHANIEL COFFIN, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas for said Circuit, within the county of Lincoln, do hereby certify, that the foregoing oath, and the schedules thereto annexed, are truly copied from the Record of the said Court ; and I do further certify, that it is the opinion of the said Court that the total amount in value of the property exhibited in the aforesaid schedule, is Five dollars and cents .
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said Court, on this twentieth day of June A. D. one thousand eight hundred and twenty.
Nat. Coffin
{ Clerk of the said Circuit Court for the County of Lincoln.

ne 2072
Dorcas Farnham, widow of Jonathan Farnham, who died on the 29 th of May, 1822; of Lincoln in the State of Maine who was a private in the company commanded by Captain Alden - of the reg t commanded by Col. Bailey - in the Maples- time for 2 years private.
Inscribed on the Roll of Maine the rate of 80 Dollars - Cont s , per annum commence on the 1 th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 30 th day of May, 1838 - and sent to J. Bailey, Wiscasset, Maine.
Arrears to the 1 th of March, 1838 = $56 0:00 Semi-annual allowance ending 4 Sept. '38 = 40:00
$600:00
{ Revolutionary Claim, Act July 4, 1836, Section the 3 }
Recorded by S. S. Pillsbury Clerk, Book 8, Vol. 2, Page 6.
A.B. 2 recd Dec 12 1840

3253
Dorcas Faraham. widow of Jonathan
Me
1831
J. Bailey Esq. Wiscasset
adm Maine. 2 years pri
80 $
No deduction died in 1822-
J. Bailey Wiscasset Me

Declaration.
In order to obtain the benefit of the 3 d section of the act of Congress of the 4 th of July 1836.
State of Maine ss. On this thirteenth day of December 1837 personally appeared before the Hon. Asa Redington Jr. one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the State of Maine, Dorcas Farnham a resident of Boothbay in the County of Lincoln and State of Maine aged eighty one years, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on her oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the act of Congress, passed July 4. 1836. That she is the widow of Jonathan Farnham, who was a private soldier (and she thinks some part of the time a non commissioned officer) in the army of the Revolution, and that he enlisted in the year 1775, as she has been informed & believes, and served to the end of the war in 1783 and was honorably discharged, — he served in Col. Nathan Aldens Company of the Massachusetts line, and drew a pension under the law of 1818, and she has endeavoured to find a copy of his declaration in order to state herein the name of his Colonel and other particulars, but there was no copy taken before the original declaration was sent to Washington, but she has found a memorandum of it, wherein it is stated that the said Jonathan Farnham "served from 1775 to 1783". — She has no documentary evidence in support of her claim. The services services were performed by the said Jonathan Farnham according to her best knowledge & belief.
She was married to the said Jonathan Farnham while on his furlough from the army; and after her marriage, said

Farnham again returned to the Army and served therein until peace took place in 1783.
She further states that she was married to the said Jonathan Farnham on the thirtieth day of April 1782 - that her husband the aforesaid Jonathan Farnham died on the twenty ninth day of May 1822, and that she has remained a widow ever since that period as will more fully appear by reference to the proof hereto annexed.
affid.
Mr Redington Jr. J. Bailey
Dorcas Farnham
Sworn to and subscribed on the day and year above written before me. - And I further certify that the above mentioned applicant, Dorcas Farnham, in my opinion cannot attend Court by reason of bodily infirmity, and that she is a person of good credit.
Mr Redington Jr. Just. C. C. Pleas

State of Maine Lincoln ss
Clerks Office January 1 st 1838.
I Jacob Smith Clerk of all the Judicial Courts within the County of Lincoln, do certify that the Hon. Asa Redington Jr - whose signature is affixed to the above certificate is duly commissioned & qualified as a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the State of Maine. In testimony I have hereunto set my hand & the seal of the Court of Common Pleas. -
Jacob Smith, Clerk.

I Esekiel Holbrook aged fifty nine years on oath testify and declare, that I am now, and for many years past have been well acquainted with Dorcas Farnham the widow of Jonathan Farn- ham late of Boothbay deceased a Revolutionary Pensioner. Said Jonathan Farnham died in said Boothbay on the 29 th of May 1822 and the said Dorcas Farnham has not since been married but has remained unmarried ever since the death of her said husband Jonathan Farnham. The said Dorcas Farnham is now eighty one years of age, & I always have understood that she & the said Jonathan Farnham were married in the town Plymouth in the State of Massachusetts. The said Dorcas is a person of good credit & much esteemed by her neighbours & acquaintance.
Esekiel Holbrook

I the said Orville Holbrook further on oath testify & say, that I was well acquainted with the said Jonathan Farnham and often heard him say that he came home from the Army on furlough & was married, & afterwards returned to the Army & served about a year. This has always been so understood in the neighbourhood where the said Jonathan Farnham lived. Orville Holbrook
State of Maine.
Lincoln Co. December 30. 1837. Personally appeared the above named Orville Holbrook before me Jeremiah Bailey one of the Justices of the Peace within & for the County of Lincoln, and after being duly cautioned to testify the whole truth, solemnly made oath to the truth of each of the foregoing depositions by him signed in my presence. And I hereby further certify that the said Orville Holbrook is a person of good credit & reputation, in whose testimony confidence may be placed.
J. Bailey Just. Peace.

State of Maine.
TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
LINCOLN, ss—I JACOB SMITH, Clerk of all the Judicial Courts within and for the County of Lincoln, do hereby certify that Jeremiah D. Baily Esq. whose name is affixed the annexed paper, as a JUSTICE OF THE PEACE is legally commissioned and duly qualified to act as such, and that the name so affixed is his own proper signature to me well known.
IN TESTIMONY whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Court of Common Pleas this second day of January A. D. 1838.
Jacob Smith CLERK.

I Doreas Holbrook aged fifty one years on oath declare, that Jonathan Farnham late of Boothby descent, a Revolutionary soldier, was my father. I have often heard him say, that he came home from the army on furlough & was married at Plymouth in Massachusetts, and that afterwards he went back to the army and served therein until peace took place which he said was about a year, or upwards of a year afterwards. I have often heard my father say that he served in the army the whole war, and sometimes he would say that he served eight years & nine months. My mother Doreas Farnham is now living & has not been married since my father died. -
Doreas her X Holbrook mark
Attest. J. Bailey

I hereby certify, that on the 270th page of the 2d. volume of the Plymouth Town records, in the County of Plymouth Massachusetts, is recorded under the caption of "Marriages Solemnized by the Rev. Chandler Robbins of Plymouth, in Plymouth," the Marriage of Jonathan Farnum of Duxbury & Dorcas Barnes Jr of Plymouth in, the words following, to wit, 1782 April 30th. Jonathan Farnum of Duxbury & Dorcas Barnes Jr of Plymouth.
Attest Th: Drew, Clerk of the Town of Plym o . Plymouth July 14. 1837.
Plymouth Y s . July 14, 1837 Then personally appeared the above named Thomas Drew & made oath to the truth of the above affidavit by him subscribed. Before me & I certify that said Thomas Drew is Clerk of the town of Plymouth & is a credible person.
Jacob H. Lord Justice of the Peace
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
County of Plymouth
Clerk's Office July 14 1837
J. M c B. Thomas Clerk of the Inferior Court

In the said County of Plymouth, hereby certify that Jacob H. Lord Esquire before whom the foregoing deposition was sworn is a justice of the Peace in the said County of Plymouth duly sworn & qualified and acting under the authority of the said Commonwealth - And that his signature before written is genuine - In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the seal of the Supreme Judicial Court on the day & year aforesaid
W. B. Mann

January 29, 1937.
Mr. George Wharton Rice Thomas Jefferson Hotel Tampa, Florida.
am BA-J/ILL Jonathan Farnam W. 24231
Dear Sir:
Reference is made to your letter in which you request the Revolutionary War record of Jonathan Farnam, Jr. who married Dorcas Barnes.
The data given herein were found in pension claim, W. 24231, based upon service of Jonathan Farnam in the Revolutionary War.
Jonathan Farnam (as he signed his name), of Duxbury, Massachusetts, enlisted the last of December 1775 and served one year as private in Captain Samuel Bradford's company, Colonel John Bailey's Massachusetts regiment, re-enlisted and served as sergeant and sergeant major in Captain Judah Alden's company, Colonels John Bailey's and Sprout's Massachusetts regiment until June 1, 1783, when he was discharged at West Point, New York; during the period of his service, he was at the taking of Burgoyne and in the battle of Monmouth. He stated that he served seven years and five months, and received a badge of merit at the time of his discharge.
He was allowed pension on his application executed May 9, 1818, at which time he resided in Boothbay, Lincoln County, Massachusetts, later Maine. He died there May 29, 1822.
The soldier married April 30, 1782 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Dorcas Barnes; they were married by a Minister in said Plymouth and were recorded on the town records as "Jonathan Farnam of Duxbury and Dorcas Barnes, Jr. of Plymouth". He was on furlough from service, and returned afterwards.
The soldier's widow, Dorcas, was allowed pension on her application executed December 30, 1837, at which time she resided in

A.B. Boothbay, Lincoln County, Maine. She was aged then eighty-one years; the date and place of her birth and the names of her parents were not given. She died December 12, 1840 . Her name was borne on the pension roll as Dorcas Farnham.
In 1820, Hannah Farnam, aged twenty-seven years, was living at home with her parents, Jonathan and Dorcas Farnam. In 1837, Dorcas Holbrook, the soldier's daughter, was aged fifty-one years; she made affidavit in behalf of her mother's claim for pension in Boothbay, Maine. One Ezekiel Holbrook, aged fifty-nine years, made affidavit at the same time (1837), but he did not state any relationship to Dorcas Holbrook, nor to the soldier's family.
Very truly yours,
A. D. HILLER, Executive Assistant to the Administrator.

1937-Jan. 29 - Heir. to Mr. George Wharton Rice - J.L.R.
Reg WIDOW, &c.
File No. 24231
Duncan Farnham Wid of Jonathan Farnham Pris Rev. war.
Act: July 4 th /36
Index:—Vol. A , Page 249
[Arrangement of 1870.]

Jonathan Farnham Lincoln Co Me admd 25 mar. 1819 private 8 $/mo when cashpd?
JHC
29 May 1838
There is another in York Co. admd 15 Jan 1819-
one Due the 29 th May 1823 & paid to that period the other paid to the 4 th March 1837
JH

Hon. Jonathan P. Edwards Commissioner of Pensions

Wiscasset, Maine, Jan. 2, 1838
Sir,
I enclose the declaration of Dorcas Farnham petitioning for a pension under the law of 4 th of July 1836. Also her evidence.
Under the pressure of great age, infirmity, and poverty, the applicant very respectfully asks an early decision on her case as your convenience will permit. Please to communicate to me.
With much respect,
your most Ob t . Serv t .
J. Bailey
Hon. Jonathan L. Edwards Commissioner of Pensions.

HOTEL Thomas Jefferson
Tampa, Florida
20th January 1936
The Administrator, The Veterans Administration Washington, D. C.
Sir,
For historical evidence I respectfully ask for the military service record of Jonathan Farnham jr. (1753-1823)? At time of enlistment he lived probably at Duxbury or Plymouth, Massachusetts; later at Boothbay, Lincoln County, Maine. The town history of the last named place states: "Tradition tells us that he (J. F.jr.) was one of Washington's body guard. . . . the story from his own lips, (and) His service at Valley Forge makes this entirely possible and other circumstances make it probable."
The soldier married Dorcas Barnes (b.1756), of Plymouth, Massachusetts; and June 1, 1840, she was recorded as a war pensioner, aged eighty-five, living with John Farnham at Boothbay, Lincoln Co., Me.
It seems to me the actual service rendered by Jonathan Farnham jr. should appear in his widow's application for pension. Any facts concerning him and family will be appreciated.
Very respectfully,
Geo. Morton Rice Rice